1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-inverter type air conditioner, and more particularly to a multi-inverter type air conditioner which can effectively test the pipe and the wire arrangements between an outdoor unit and a plurality of indoor units, and a test method thereof.
2) Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional multi-inverter type air conditioner has an outdoor unit 10 and a plurality of indoor units 20a, 20b and 20c. Outdoor unit 10 is connected to indoor units 20a, 20b and 20c through pipe arrangements 30a, 30b and 30c and wires 40a, 40b and 40c. Pipe controllers 50a, 50b and 50c are installed at pipe arrangements pipes 30a, 30b and 30c for opening and closing the pipe arrangements. Test devices 22a, 22b and 22c for testing the pipe arrangements and the wires are installed at indoor units 20a, 20b and 20c, respectively. In the conventional multi-inverter type air conditioner, the pipe arrangements and the wires are tested as follows.
Firstly, in order to test the wire and the pipe arrangement connected with indoor unit 20a, the user operates indoor unit 20a by driving test device 22a. Then, when indoor unit 20a sends an operating signal through wire 40a to outdoor unit 10, outdoor unit 10 operates so that pipe controller 50a is turned on and other pipe controllers 50b and 50c are turned off. Accordingly, the refrigerant only flows through pipe arrangement 30a connected to indoor unit 20a, so the user can determine whether or not the pipe arrangement 30a and the wire 40a are in a normal condition by detecting the temperature of pipe arrangement 30a. If the pipe arrangement and wire are found to be in an abnormal condition, the user tests the operating condition of outdoor unit 10. If outdoor unit 10 is found to be operating in the normal condition, the operation of indoor unit 20a is stopped and other indoor units 20b and 20c are tested in the same manner mentioned above. In this manner, the condition of all pipe arrangements and wires between outdoor unit 10 and indoor units 20a, 20b and 20c can be tested.
However, in the conventional multi-inverter type air conditioner, since each indoor unit is provided with a respective test device, an incorrect operation of one or more of the test devices may occur due to a mistake by the user.
In addition, since the operating condition of the outdoor unit is also tested if the wires and pipe arrangements are in an abnormal condition, the test work is inconvenient and a lot of time is required.